In message . li
Tom Anderson wrote:

On Thu, 12 Aug 2010, Bruce wrote:

On Thu, 12 Aug 2010 16:42:00 +0100, "Recliner"
wrote:
"Bruce" wrote in message

On Wed, 11 Aug 2010 16:33:21 -0700 (PDT), Mizter T
wrote:
On Aug 11, 11:06 pm, Neil Williams
wrote:

On Wed, 11 Aug 2010 22:45:20 +0100, Arthur Figgis
wrote:
If you are at King's Cross, the [well known UK city of] Cambridge
might be quicker to get to by train than parts of Greater London.

I've often made the point that, depending on where you're going to
exactly, a commute to London from Milton Keynes or even Rugby may be
quicker than one from somewhere within the Travelcard zones.

Just don't tell Michael Bell that - he seems to think you can get
from anywhere to anywhere in (Greater) London in less than an hour.

In Ringby, it will only take twenty/ten/five/two minutes.

And now he knows that 30 trains per hour is possible, no doubt this will
be the service frequency on the Ringby Circle Line.

Given that these trains will be double deckers with 3+3 seating,
RingbyRail would have to employ Japanese-style "pushers" on the
platforms to make sure that the passengers don't dawdle when boarding
or alighting from the trains.

Perhaps the trains could be equipped with arrival and departure 'pods'
in which passengers would wait (1) at the stations to board, and
(2) on the trains to alight. The pods could be swapped while the
train speeds through the station using similar principles to the
former Travelling Post Offices when picking up and setting down mail
bags while on the move.

Obviously the speed of the train would need to be reduced to ensure
that passengers' internal organs were not ruptured during the pod
exchange, but there would still be a considerable saving in time
compared to having the trains stop.

Well OBVIOUSLY the solution is that the trains maintain a constant speed
through the stations, but that the pods accelerate and decelerate out of
and into them. For trains travelling at 100 mph, pods changing speed at a
comfortable 1 m/s^2 would take a touch under 45 seconds to go between
moving and stationary in either direction, covering a cubit and a half
less than a kilometre in doing so. So, allow about a mile of podway on
either side of the station, and everyone will enjoy optimum travel time.


You may jest but I found such a suggestion in a 1960s book about German
proposals for a future ultra-high-speed rail service.

--
Graeme Wall

This address not read, substitute trains for rail
Transport Miscellany at www.greywall.demon.co.uk/rail
Photo galleries at http://graeme-wall.fotopic.net/